Like: frames that are made of nice steel at a reasonable price ($800 17lb bike? cool!)
Dislike: pretty much everything else about them.

uh, it's alu.

not really feeling the integrated headset, nothing really stands out for the price point. though as the MSRP of a new pista is now 820, it's not bad in that respect. tires are pretty low grade for the price, and not giving any branding for the wheels means they're probably low end.

I think any Alu frame which doesn't have reinforcing around the dropouts is a waste of money. Those track ends will look pretty bad in year or twos time. Its a pretty generic looking frame too, seems like they can't quite decide who their target audience is and put little thought into it.

They have pretty slack head angles at 71deg -- perhaps done to avoid pedal/wheel interference. It won't be particularly quick-handling, but easy to control at least. 62mm of drop is a fair amount for a fixed gear as well. I'd go for more like 55mm to get a little more pedal clearance on the corners.

not really feeling the integrated headset, nothing really stands out for the price point. though as the MSRP of a new pista is now 820, it's not bad in that respect. tires are pretty low grade for the price, and not giving any branding for the wheels means they're probably low end.

still integrated hs, but 350 for a reynolds 725 frameset seems like a decent deal...

EDIT: just noticed the classic has angles a bit slacker than I would have preferred. the alu one has some slack headtube angles relative to the seat tube... odd

They've added the component list to the site since this thread was last active. I just got the Classic in sapphire, and I'm totally stoked with it. The wheels are pretty light, and spin forever. The headset does look a bit funky on a steel bike, but that's about my only complaint.

it looks nice but WAY overpriced... a $800 fixed bike shouldnt have ANY house brand parts. i bought a reynolds 853 road bike with a carbon fork, full ultegra, and open pros for less than $1000 a few years ago.

Scandium is one of those dream frame materials. Granted this frame is just scandium enhanced aluminum, but it's a good grade aluminum too. It's a pretty light frame fork combo at 3.9lbs

That being said, it's not too great looking, not bad either, but nothing special.
It's got a really slack head tube.
it's full of no name components.
Seems too expensive for what it is. If the whole thing was $500 or maybe $600 it would be good, but $800 is not worth it.

Scandium is one of those dream frame materials. Granted this frame is just scandium enhanced aluminum, but it's a good grade aluminum too. It's a pretty light frame fork combo at 3.9lbs

That being said, it's not too great looking, not bad either, but nothing special.
It's got a really slack head tube.
it's full of no name components.
Seems too expensive for what it is. If the whole thing was $500 or maybe $600 it would be good, but $800 is not worth it.

They've added the component list to the site since this thread was last active. I just got the Classic in sapphire, and I'm totally stoked with it. The wheels are pretty light, and spin forever. The headset does look a bit funky on a steel bike, but that's about my only complaint.

650 for a 19lb bike isn't bad imo. I like the geometry now that i have a bike with geometry that's too aggressive haha. it looks pretty similar to my 84 trek, which rides amazingly.

if the aluminum frame had a 73 parallel geo then I'd more keen on it. the steel one is definitely the winner here though.

it looks nice but WAY overpriced... a $800 fixed bike shouldnt have ANY house brand parts. i bought a reynolds 853 road bike with a carbon fork, full ultegra, and open pros for less than $1000 a few years ago.

I think you're missing the point. If a logo is more important than ride quality, this isn't the bike for you. The spec does seem to be well-chosen, and given the weight, there's nothing cheap about it. If you get a chance, take one for a ride.

Originally Posted by LupinIII

650 for a 19lb bike isn't bad imo. I like the geometry now that i have a bike with geometry that's too aggressive haha. it looks pretty similar to my 84 trek, which rides amazingly.

if the aluminum frame had a 73 parallel geo then I'd more keen on it. the steel one is definitely the winner here though.

I think you're missing the point. If a logo is more important than ride quality, this isn't the bike for you. The spec does seem to be well-chosen, and given the weight, there's nothing cheap about it. If you get a chance, take one for a ride.

For my riding, the more relaxed geometry is perfect.

i'm not a label junkie, i ride a scattante for goodness sake. my point is that you can buy a 7005 aluminum frame for $100 from performance (yeah, i know its got vertical dropouts, its for referance) there is not $700 worth of componets on this bike.

I found in the Wabi cycles Lightning what I wanted: light weight and road geometry. I rode a true track frame on longer rides and didn't much care for the nervousness of a track angled frame. Plus I had to carry all my water in a camelback.

, i wanted a frameset that would be comfortable and as light as possible. While not cheap (certainly not after I paid shipping and customs) and definately not attractive (the track ends look hideous, although I like the fact it almost doesn't have decals), I agreed with Richard's design philosophy. Even with these slack angles, the lightning is plenty manoeuvreable. You don't need a track frame to go around corners fast. BB height is adequate for a fixed gear, it comes with bottle bosses so I can carry a water bottle, the black hides a lot of the things I don't like etc.

Also, Richard is a top guy to deal with and his level of customer service is something other companies can use as an example.

I am still waiting to buy Exustar road pedals (sub 200 grammes), TA Axix Light Pro BB ( 170 ish grammes) . replace spacers with Ti grey ones, maybe black out the crankset. After all is said and done, I will have a 13 (!) pound, road worthy fixed gear with sensible geometry that I can take on longer rides and climb a hill or two on without busting out my knees (ratio also helps; 46:17) and with having spent cash that wouldn't even buy you a 105 equipped road bike.

I can then still swap out the stock fork for a full carbon one, add road bar and brake levers and still be below 13 pounds. Yay for weight weenieism!

I swapped the stock stem for a Thomson, which cost me about a 40 gram weight penalty, but the Ritchey Pro bars cut about 120 grams. I'd be happy to see 16lbs with brakes, but I'm not obsessed with weight. I like the clean looks of the Classic, and I can't get over the ride.

I found in the Wabi cycles Lightning what I wanted: light weight and road geometry. I rode a true track frame on longer rides and didn't much care for the nervousness of a track angled frame. Plus I had to carry all my water in a camelback.

, i wanted a frameset that would be comfortable and as light as possible. While not cheap (certainly not after I paid shipping and customs) and definately not attractive (the track ends look hideous, although I like the fact it almost doesn't have decals), I agreed with Richard's design philosophy. Even with these slack angles, the lightning is plenty manoeuvreable. You don't need a track frame to go around corners fast. BB height is adequate for a fixed gear, it comes with bottle bosses so I can carry a water bottle, the black hides a lot of the things I don't like etc.

Also, Richard is a top guy to deal with and his level of customer service is something other companies can use as an example.

I am still waiting to buy Exustar road pedals (sub 200 grammes), TA Axix Light Pro BB ( 170 ish grammes) . replace spacers with Ti grey ones, maybe black out the crankset. After all is said and done, I will have a 13 (!) pound, road worthy fixed gear with sensible geometry that I can take on longer rides and climb a hill or two on without busting out my knees (ratio also helps; 46:17) and with having spent cash that wouldn't even buy you a 105 equipped road bike.

I can then still swap out the stock fork for a full carbon one, add road bar and brake levers and still be below 13 pounds. Yay for weight weenieism!

How do you like the Ultremo R's? Im thinking of crit racing on them next year.

They're regular ultremos. Very low rolling resistance and very grippy, though I sort of feared big lean angles on a slick tire like this one. They bite into tarmac like no other and wear well. I skidded them once or twice and decided that they were just too expensive to fool around with.

Almost problem free too; one flat in rainy weather with lots of debris on the road and a snake bite on the rear when I hopped a curb and my rear wheel didn't make it. Luckily the tires were on deep v wheels at the time, because I don't think these rims would have escaped unscathed. I have heard very bad things about the R's, but it is also said that Schwalbe has solved the problem.